A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) may operate as an ad-hoc network or as an infrastructure network. In an ad-hoc network, all nodes may be peers and admission to the network defined loosely. In an infrastructure network, there may be a master node, typically referred to as an access point, which may be responsible for regulating admission to the network. Any node attempting to join the network may be required to exchange negotiation messages with the access point in order to be admitted to the network.
WLANs may use either a distributed channel access scheme, a centralized channel access scheme, or some combination of both. In a distributed channel access scheme, all nodes in the network may be capable of initiating an attempt to access the channel. In a centralized channel access scheme, a master channel access node, typically referred to as the point coordinator, may be responsible for deciding which node may be permitted to access the channel at any given time. The type of channel access scheme used in the WLAN may depend on the network configuration, the type of data transmitted between nodes in the network, and the amount of traffic in the network.